Mr. Crews is a litigation attorney who provides representation in trials, appeals, mediations, and arbitrations.  He utilizes his litigation and trial experience to provide clients with a realistic and pragmatic assessment of the risks associated with a client’s particular legal dispute, and takes pride in implementing strategies to position his clients for the best possible outcome.  He has been recognized in Super Lawyers Magazine as a 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009 Rising Star in the areas of Employment and Labor Law.

Mr. Crews is a litigation attorney who provides representation in trials, appeals, mediations, and arbitrations. He utilizes his litigation and trial experience to provide clients with a realistic and pragmatic assessment of the risks associated with a client’s particular legal dispute, and takes pride in implementing strategies to position his clients for the best possible outcome. He has been recognized in Super Lawyers Magazine as a 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009 Rising Star in the areas of Employment and Labor Law. He is a 1997 graduate of the University of Northern Colorado, and the recipient of the 2010 University of Northern Colorado Distinguished Young Alumni Award.

Ms. Teel joined Mastin Hoffman & Crews as an Associate Attorney in the fall of 2010.  She received her J.D. from the University Of Denver Sturm College Of Law and was admitted to the Colorado Bar in October of 2010.  Prior to beginning her legal career, Ms. Teel worked in the International Executive Services (Tax) group of KPMG, LLP in Seattle, WA. With KPMG, Ms. Teel assisted several Fortune 500 clients with expatriate consulting and tax compliance services. Her practice with KPMG also included providing international and domestic tax planning, compliance and consulting services to high-net-worth individuals in the Seattle area.

Christine Mastin has been named as a Rising Star in the area of Immigration Law.  This is her fourth year in a row being named by Colorado Super Lawyers magazine as a Rising Star.  Kato Crews has been named as a Rising Star in the areas of Employment and Labor Law, also his fourth year in a row being named by Colorado Super Lawyers magazine as a Rising Star.  A proud newcomer to the list, Nicole Nies has been named as a Rising Star in the area of Real Estate Law.

Rising Stars is a designated list selected by Super Lawyers magazine of the state’s top up-and-coming attorneys—those who are 40 years old or younger, or who have been practicing for 10 years or less.  Each year, the research team at Super Lawyers undertakes a rigorous multi-phase selection process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, independent evaluation of candidates by the attorney-led research staff, a peer review of candidates by practice area, and a good-standing and disciplinary check.

The objective is to create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource for attorneys and consumers searching for legal counsel.  No more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are named to the Rising Stars list.

Benjamin Franklin is acclaimed for many reasons – as one of the Founding Fathers of our fine country, as an inventor, as a diplomat, as a scientist – just to name a few.  But for tax attorneys, particularly those who focus on wealth and estate planning, he is namely cited for his poignant statement that “…In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”  – a statement first made by Franklin in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy in 1789 which still holds great truth some 220 years later.  Some things never change.

Humans are distinct from other living beings in many ways, but none more distinct than the insistent knowledge that we will eventually die.  This is a fact that no one likes to spend time contemplating, whether able-bodied and enjoying a healthy life, or in the throes of illness or advanced age.  But the fact is that we all must deal with our mortality on many levels including the practical level of planning our estate.

Maintaining the ability to determine who should enjoy the benefit of your life’s work, what individuals and charitable organizations should receive the bequest of your assets – regardless of whether these assets are small or grand in terms of the actual financial worth – this is a representation of your life and you should choose how it is all distributed.

There are many reasons why estate planning is critically important, but the choice involved with naming your beneficiaries is of primary importance to most people.   So in addition to saving on potential taxes, and limiting the costs and attorneys’ fees associated with the estate process, you can also afford your loved ones the ability to mourn your loss without being simultaneously burdened with unnecessary tasks and confusion by taking very basic preliminary steps.

A simple last will and testament can satisfy this primary issue and more sophisticated documents and planning mechanisms can satisfy more sophisticated tax planning needs.  But to ensure that your legacy and the fruits of your life’s work are handled according to your wishes, a simple estate plan is a must for everyone.  While we cannot control death or taxes, we can certainly take the steps that are available to ensure that we control how our legacy will ultimately be handled.  And with that comes a priceless peace of mind.

Please let us answer your questions and assist you with this critical task.  Call to schedule a consultation with Ms. Hoffman, the head of our Wealth & Succession Planning practice group.

Denise D. Hoffman is a Partner with Mastin Hoffman & Crews LLC.  Ms. Hoffman can be reached at 303.217.4876, or  via email at denise@mastinlaw.com.

We are proud to have her as a member of our team!

]]> http://www.mastinlaw.com//media/news/nicole-r-nies-joins-the-firm-as-partner/feed/ 0 http://www.mastinlaw.com//media/news/denise-d-hoffman-and-s-kato-crews-to-serve-in-leadership-roles-for-cobalt-2012/ http://www.mastinlaw.com//media/news/denise-d-hoffman-and-s-kato-crews-to-serve-in-leadership-roles-for-cobalt-2012/#comments Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:49:22 +0000 admin http://www.mastinlaw.com/?p=1046 We are proud to announce that Denise D. Hoffman and S. Kato Crews will continue to serve in leadership roles for the prestigious 2012 Colorado Bar Association Leadership Training (COBALT) program.

The mission of COBALT is to enhance, promote and inspire the leadership of the legal profession.  COBALT brings together lawyers from different practice areas with a variety of experiences from across Colorado.  These lawyers are acknowledged leaders of the profession and their communities.  COBALT builds upon their leadership skills and promotes new leadership experiences.  This six-month program consists of an initial retreat and six day-long workshops on substantive issues.

Ms. Hoffman is a graduate of the 2009 COBALT class, and served as the Chair of the 2011 COBALT program.  She will continue her leadership role by now serving as the Chair of the COBALT Strategic Planning Committee.  Her committee will focus on the development of ongoing opportunities for the growing COBALT alumni to leverage the collective skills and the dedication to community and profession that COBALT alumni offer.

Mr. Crews is a graduate of the inaugural 2007 COBALT class.  He served on the COBALT Programs Committee in 2008, and has served as the COBALT Gathering Facilitator for each class since 2009, and will again serve in this capacity for the 2012 class.  Fondly referred to by COBALT alumni as the “COBALT Whisperer,” Mr. Crews leads a gathering of the COBALT class after each programming session where he and the class ruminate over leadership concepts and ideals conveyed during each program.

For more information about COBALT, please click here:  http://www.cobar.org/index.cfm/ID/20238/DPWLT/COBALT/

For information, please visit the ABA General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division 2011 National Solo & Small Firm Conference website:

http://ali-aba.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=courses.course&course_code=CT040#planningchairs

In one of the most significant employment-law rulings from the Colorado Supreme Court this year, the state high court held that an at-will employee’s continued employment is sufficient consideration to support a noncompetition agreement signed by an employee after his or her initial hire. The Court’s decision reverses a previous decision by the Colorado Court of Appeals which held to the contrary, and frees employers to make good faith efforts to get noncompetition agreements in place with existing at-will employees (where appropriate) without the need to offer those employees additional compensation or benefits in exchange for their signing a noncompetition agreement.

The case is Lucht’s Concrete Pumping, Inc. v. Horner, decided May 31, 2011. It involved Tracy Horner, an at-will employee hired by Lucht’s in 2001. Horner signed a noncompetition agreement with the company in 2003, two years after his date of hire. When he resigned from the company in 2004 and began to work for a competitor, Lucht’s sued him, in part, for breach of the noncompetition agreement.

Implicit in the at-will employment relationship is the employer’s right to terminate an employee at any time, and the employee’s corresponding right to quit at any time. As one court put it, “[a]s a practical matter every day is a new day for both employer and employee in an at-will relationship.”¹ Because an employer may terminate an at-will employee at any time, the Colorado Supreme Court concluded that an employer’s restraint from terminating an employee is the forbearance of a legal right. And, this forbearance constitutes adequate consideration to support a noncompetition agreement signed by an existing at-will employee.

Presenting an existing at-will employee with a noncompetition agreement is in essence an offer to renegotiate the terms and conditions of the employee’s employment. In exchange for signing the noncompetition agreement and accepting the new employment terms, the employee receives the ability to continue his or her employment because the employer refrains from exercising its lawful right to terminate the employee. But the Colorado Supreme Court warned against employers seizing this as an opportunity to have an existing at-will employee sign a noncompetition agreement only to terminate that employee shortly thereafter. An at-will employee’s continued employment is not sufficient consideration if the employer acts in bad faith by terminating the employee shortly after (s)he signs the noncompetition agreement.

Employers must remember that noncompetition agreements are void in Colorado unless one of four exceptions applies. C.R.S. § 8-2-113(2). One exception allows for noncompetition agreements with “executive and management personnel and officers and employees who constitute professional staff to executive and management personnel,” while another exception applies to contracts for the protection of trade secrets. While an at-will employee’s continued employment may now be sufficient consideration for a later-signed noncompetition agreement, any noncompetition agreement must still satisfy one of the four exceptions, and must always be reasonable as to geographic scope and duration.

¹Copeco, Inc. v. Caley, 632 N.E.2d 1299 (Ohio 1992).

S. Kato Crews is a Partner with Mastin Hoffman & Crews LLC. He is a litigator representing businesses and professionals in a range of legal disputes, with particular experience defending employers against a variety of employment-related claims, and representing construction professionals, developers, and owners in commercial and residential construction disputes. Mr. Crews can be reached at 303.217.4876, or by via email at crews@mastinlaw.com.

When school lets out for the summer, many students will take advantage of on-the-job educational opportunities as interns. Some will have the good fortune of working paid internships. Others will sacrifice their summer fun for unpaid positions with zeal for the learning experience and the opportunity to earn a few college credit hours. As employers prepare for the arrival of their summer interns, it is imperative that they understand the legality of unpaid intern positions. The key is in distinguishing between a “training” versus an “employment” relationship.

Both the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and the Colorado Minimum Wage Order (for Colorado employers) require that employers pay employees at least minimum wage (state or federal minimum wage, whichever is higher, when both laws apply) for all hours worked. The FLSA covers most employers with two or more employees that are engaged in interstate commerce; the Colorado Minimum Wage Order applies to private sector employers in Colorado engaged in the following four industries: retail and service, commercial support service, food and beverage, and health and medical. The Colorado Minimum Wage Order exempts “students employed in a work experience study program” from its requirements, but it does not specifically define this category of worker. Similarly, the FLSA exempts “trainees” from its requirements.

The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has developed six criteria to determine whether a worker is a “trainee” who may perform work for an employer for free. These criteria are useful in considering the Colorado Minimum Wage Order’s exemption for “students employed in a work experience study program.”

In considering whether a worker is a “trainee” for FLSA purposes, the DOL considers the following six factors:

1. Even though the training includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, it is similar to what would be given in a vocational school or academic educational instruction;
2. The training is for the trainee’s benefit;
3. The trainee does not displace regular employees, but works under their close observation;
4. The employer derives no immediate advantage from the trainee’s activities and, on occasion, the employer’s operations may actually be impeded;
5. The trainee is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the training period; and,
6. The employer and the trainee understand that the trainee is not entitled to wages for the time spent training.

While the DOL uses these factors to evaluate whether a worker is a “trainee” exempted from FLSA requirements, they are useful and applicable in considering whether a worker is a “student employed in a work experience study program” for purposes of being exempt from the Colorado Minimum Wage Order. As with most wage and hour issues, the fact that an employer labels a worker as an “intern” or “trainee” is not conclusive—rather, the presence of the DOL’s six factors among the facts associated with the actual working relationship between an employer and worker will determine whether the worker is lawfully classified as an unpaid intern. A written agreement between the employer and worker that tracks these six factors, though not conclusive, helps to evidence and clarify the training relationship between an employer and intern.

The DOL’s six-factor test helps in distinguishing between a “training” versus an “employment” relationship. If a training relationship exists based on the DOL’s six-factor test, then the worker is a “trainee” or “student employed in a work experience study program” and exempt from the FLSA and Colorado Minimum Wage Order. In those circumstances, an employer may lawfully offer an unpaid internship. The “trainee” exemption should not be confused with the exemption for “volunteers,” which involves a different set of criteria not addressed here.

S. Kato Crews is a Partner with Mastin Hoffman & Crews PC. He is a litigator representing businesses and professionals in a range of legal disputes, with particular experience defending employers against a variety of employment-related claims, and representing construction professionals, developers, and owners in commercial and residential construction disputes.   Mr. Crews can be reached at 303.217.4876, or by via email at crews@mastinlaw.com.